Olympic bronze medalist Hellen Obiri has revealed the reason she has shifted her training back to her base in Ngong, almost two years after she moved to the United States. As she prepares for a historic stab at a third Boston Marathon title in a row, the 35 year old will anchor most of her preliminary training in Nairobi.

In an interview with Telecomasia.net, she says this was occasioned due to the current harsh conditions back home in the US.

“It would have been difficult for me to keep training in the US because there is a very strong winter and it is snowing most of the time and this would force me to skip some days. That is why I opted to come back to Kenya and start my preparations here then travel back for the final phase towards race day,” Obiri explained to Telecomasia.net.

The 35 year old has won twice in a row in Boston, in 2023 and 2024, and has been confirmed as part of the elite field for the 2025 showpiece, where she will be taking a shot at history.

In the interview, she has further admitted there is pressure on her shoulders to defend her Boston tiutle.

“There is pressure of course because there is a very strong field of athletes from Kenya and Ethiopia. But I take this positively because it is pushing me to work harder towards defending my title. It is my ambition to make history and win it three consecutive times, and there is pressure being the defending champion because every eye is looking at you. But I am working towards that. I am motivated by this ambition,” Obiri told Telecomasia.net.

The 2025 Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 2021. Among the elite athletes confirmed to compete alomngside Obiri include Sharon Lokedi, Maru Ngugi and Edna Kiplagat all based in the USA as well as Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Amane Beriso.